Mall of America is hosting Writer in Residence Program

Mall of America will be hosting its first Writer-in-Residence program this summer. Over 4,000 people from around the country applied for this sweepstake to spend 5 days immersed in the Mall atmosphere while developing on-the-fly content in their own creative way.

07.06.2017 19:54 |
Mall Of America |

The winner would stay in an attached hotel for four nights, receive a $400 gift card to buy food and drinks, and collect an honorarium for the effort and creativity put into their prose.

MOA was pleased to announce the winner last month. Brian Sonia-Wallace, a Los Angeles-based poet, was chosen. His pitch to the judges was to write 125 poems, 25 a day, inspired by Mall guests and experiences. “Out of the many qualified and creative entries, a team of judges chose Brian Sonia-Wallace as the Writer-in-Residence Contest winner because of his interactive yet simple idea,” said Dan Jasper, MOA Communications Vice President. “These poems, 25 each day, will be a unique way to bring people in the Mall – especially kids – together for the creative process. And using a typewriter? That's pure fun.”
Brian will be staying at Mall of America from June 14 to 18, 2017. Brian is even celebrating his birthday during his residency on June 17.

“I want to bring poetry back into people's everyday lives,” Sonia-Wallace explained. “We think of poems as this elite art form, but their roots go back to the dawn of self-expression and communication. The typewriter is my hook – it gets people engaged. From there, conversations can flow that awaken the inner storyteller in everyone. I'm excited to bring my model of poetry as a service, as a gift, to help celebrate Mall of America's birthday. As a bonus, my actual birthday is during the residency, on June 17!”